 Hutchinson & Waters, (1987), English for

Specific Purposes;
 Nation & Mcalister, (2009), Language
Curriculum Design;
 Dudley Evans & St. Johns, (1998),
Developments in ESP
Upon successful completion of the lecture, students
will be able to:
 Define the concept of “course design” in
education;
 Know the various models to course design;

 Know the components of course design

 Know the parameters of course design

 Know the factors that affect a course design

 Use theoretical knowledge in order to comment

on an existing BE course;
 Definition of course design
 Needs analysis in the service of course design
 Models of course design
 Graves’ Model (1996)
 Nation & Macalister (2009)
 Factors affecting course design
 Parameters/criteria of course design
 Case study
 Market Leader
 You should know the meaning of the following
terms:
Needs analysis;

Target Situation Analysis (TSA);

Present Situation Analysis (PSA);

Learning Situation Analysis (LSA);

 TSA refers to refers to a form of needs analysis, which
centers on identifying the learners’ language
requirements in the occupational or academic setting;
e.g. I need to write reports, I have occasional meetings
with my British colleagues, etc.
 PSA refers to the strengths and weaknesses in
language, skills and learning experiences (Dudley
Evans & St. Johns, 124); e.g. I find it difficult to write
reports, my problem is finding the right word, etc.
 LSA refers to how students should learn the skills and
language (Dudley Evans & St. Johns, 1998); e.g. I need
to see vocabulary written down, I like problem solving,
etc.
 Under Hutchinson & Waters’ (1987) target needs
are necessities, lacks and wants. H & W define
necessities as “the type of need determined by the
demands of the target situation,” and lacks as what
the learners do not know; in other words, lacks are
the gap that the learners seek to fill. By wants,
Hutchinson and Waters refer to the learners’
motivation and attitudes to the course. In the aim
of connecting the above with the needs analysis
approaches, we find the following:
TSA = necessities; PSA = lacks; LSA = wants
 This handout is intended to be used by L3 students of English at
Djelfa University. It is the 3rd lecture of a series of lectures aiming to
introduce the students to the course of «English for Specific Purposes».
It offers knowledge that would allow students understand key terms
and concepts in ESP.
In lectures 1 and 2, basic notions and terms were introduced as to
allow students to grasp the subsequent knowledge. Students should
know that English for Specific Purposes is, as Hutchinson & Waters
(1987, p. 21) noted, «an approach to language teaching, which aims to
meet the needs of particular learners.» Student should also know that
needs analysis is the process that paves the way for designing courses
that likely help to meet those needs; this implies the centrality of needs
analysis in ESP.
This lecture is divided into two broad sections: theoretical
background of course design, and a case study that would demonstrate
the students’ understading of the theoretical section of the ESP course.
 Based on the aforementioned grounds, two main
headings will make the first section; whereas
under the first one lies the definition of the process
of course design, under the second heading are
organized the parameters (or factors) affecting the
course design process. On the other hand, in our
case study section, we will make use of Market
Leader, an internationally renowned course of
business English. Thus, based on related authentic
materials (the introduction and outline of one of
Market Leader books), students shall be asked to
discuss the relationship between what they will
have learned in the theoretical section and the
Market Leader course.
 We would like here to look at how data from needs analysis is analysed so
that it provides a solid ground on which will lie our course design.
In fact, literature on how to analyse and interpret needs’ analysis data shows
that various models have been offered by specialists. However, since we will
dedicate our empirical section to business English, we would like to metnion
the example of Nelson’s 1994 computer-generated system since it aimed for
analysing and interpreting needs analysis data to develop business English
course designs.
All in a nutshel, Nelson’s model consists of a placement test that is carried out
in the beginning, and a needs analysis questionnaire as a second step; this
covers both the TSA (target situation analysis) and the LSA (learning situation
analysis) (cited in Evans & St. Johns, 1998, 138). In other words, the second step
consists of questions that would yield information related to the learners’
target aims, and the information necessary for the learing process itself
(appropriate learning styles, learners’ likes and dislikes, etc.) All the desired
will be generated by a computer after relevant input has have been loaded into
that computer.
 In general terms, the word course refers to the “route or
direction”, and in education it refers to the “series of lectures or
lessons in a particular subject, leading to an examination or
qualification”; this includes ESP courses
(oxforddictionaries.com).
According to Hutchinson & Waters (1987, p. 65), the term
course design refers to “the process by which the raw data about a
learning need is interpreted in order to produce an integrated
series of teaching-learning experiences, whose ultimate goal is to
lead the learners to a particular state of knowledge.” A more
recent definition is provided by Robinson (1991, p. …) who notes
that an ESP course design is the result of a dynamic interaction
between: the results of needs analysis, the course designers’
approach to syllabus and methodology, existing materials, and
contextual constraints including government attitude, status of
English and the students’ motivation.
 Literature related to models of course design
indicates that there are many models suggested by
scholars (see for instance Graves, 1996; Mickan,
2013; Nation & Macalister, 2009). In the following
section, we shall focus on Graves 1996 model.
 Graves’ (1996) model of course design consists of
six steps; these are as follows:
1- Carrying out a needs analysis;
2- Formulating the goals and objectives of the
course;
3- Developing materials and activities;
4- Designing an assessment plan;
5- Organising the course;
6- Conceptualizing the content;
Fig. 1: Graves course-design model (cited in Nation & Macalister,
2010, p. 136)
 This is based on the various methods and data
gathering tools we already know: interviews,
questionnaires, surveys, etc. Of course, this is with
reference to the specific questions leading to
specific answers that will pave the way for specifc
content that will ulitimately help meet the learners’
needs.
 Course goals can be expressed in general terms
and be given more details when considering the
content of the course (Nation & Macalister, 2010, p.
6). This implies that goals are an extendable
(modifiable) component of the course as the
content of the course is being developed. Also, one
basic feature of the course goals is that they must
be realistic (i.e. achievable) (Xenodohidis, 2004, p.
4), clear and measurable (Nation & Macalister,
2010).
 (a) Encourage students to communicate in a wide
range of everyday situations.
 (b) Sustain interest and motivation.
 (c) Help students understand and formulate the
grammatical rules of English.
 (d) Develop students’ receptive skills beyond those of
their productive skills.
 (e) Give students insights into daily life in Britain.
 (f) Develop specific skills, including skills required
for examination purposes.
 (g) Contribute to the students’ personal, social and
educational development
Radley and Sharley (1987, in Nation & Macalister 2010:
6)
 Allwright (1990) argues that materials should teach
students to learn, act as resource books of ideas and
activities for teaching/learning, and give teachers
rationale (i.e. background and purpose) for what they
do.
It is very interesting in this section to mention
authentic materials. The term ‘AUTHENTIC’ denotes
that the texts were written for purposes other than
language teaching and learning. For example, for
developing a course for Business English, the teacher
would try to include texts written by specialists in
business; this could include: reports, emails, letters,
etc. Example (Refer to Market Leader)
 According to Graves (1996, cited in Xenodohidis, 2006: 12),
when selecting materials the following should considered:
1. Effectiveness in achieving the course purposes;
2. Appropriateness of the materials, so that the students will feel
comfortable. This means that the materials will be relevant to
their interests and language level;
3- Feasibility, so that the material will be in accordance
with students’ capabilities and the course will not prove too
difficult for them;
4- Choosing materials may mean development of new material,
collection of various materials or adaptation of existing ones. The
source of materials can be from published materials (textbooks,
journals, magazines).
 An assessment plan refers to how course
designers would like to assess and evaluate their
course, and whether they should evaluate the
evaluation of their course on whether the primary
course evaluation is valid, reliable and practical
(Nation & Macalister, 2010, pp. 123-124) as to help
spot out the possible errors and help make new
changes according to the needs. The assessment
comes in the end of the course design but the
planning comes before.
 By organising the course, Graves refers to the organisation
of content and activities that will lead the learner from a
particular state of knowledge to a wanted state of
knowedge. Answers to the following questions may help
understand what this step revolves around:
 What activities will I get the learners to do today?
 Shall I get the learners to do this activity individually or in
pairs or groups?
 Should I pre-teach these items before the learners
meet them in the reading passage?
 Shall I write this on the blackboard or by using handouts?
 Should I have a pre-reading discussion or should I get the
learners to talk about the text after the reading?
 Have I got a good balance of activities in this lesson?
 In this stage, it is necessary to identify
language function and language expression in
relation to the needs and objectives of the learners
either for academic or professional purposes.
Based on this idea, the content should be broken
down into categories: grammar, vocabulary,
reading, etc. (example: see Fig. 2 below)
Fig. 2: Example of course content broken down into several categories
 A curriculum (or course) in its simplest form is an
inventory of what is to be taught, and how it will
be taught and assessed for the realization of
particular goals or specific needs. It is primarily a
selection of content, resources and activities
organised and sequenced for consistency and
continuity of instruction, and for the assessment of
change or develpoment (Mickan, 2013, p. p p. 24-
25).
Nation & Macalister (2010) suggested a four-step
model to build a curriculum (see Fig. 3)
 The above figure shows the following:
The first step to develop a course is to carry out a needs analysis; this
may be achieved through the getting learners tested (e.g. placement
test), by observing or interviewing them. This will show what their
needs, lacks and wants are.
The second step is the environment in which the teaching/learning
process will take place. The environment is un umbrella term for three
components:
1- Class: when it should take place, how many students there should
be, what hardware to use;
2- Student: this is with reference to the student’s age range, language-
proficieny level and needs to meet;
3- Teacher: this has to do with the teacher’s experience and the
materials to be used in the teaching process.
The third step is related to the requirement of following the
principles. In other words, it is necessary to connect theories (or
research available) of teaching ESP to the practice of teaching ESP.
The fourth and final step is the formulation of goals; these must be
clear, achievable (realistc) and measurable (possibilty to measure the
goals).
 Hutchinson & Waters mentioned three factors
affecting course design; these include: language
description, learning theories and needs analysis. The
two authors refer us to a piece of Rudyard Kipling’s
poetry that reads:
I keep six honest serving men, they taught me all I knew.
Their names are What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who. (Rudyard Kipling)
According to the authors, it is by asking the right
questions that appropriate information may be
gathered; this information will lead to designing an
effective ESP course (See Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Factors affecting ESP course design (Hutchinson & Waters,
1987, p. 22)
Figure 5 below shows the authors suggested questions:

Fig. 5: necessary questions design an ESP course (Hutchinson &

Waters, 1987, p p. 21-22)
 Dudley Evans and St. Johns (1998, p p. 145-146) suggested nine questions to
determine the parameters of course design; each one of the nine questions
consists of two poles of a dichotomoy as follows:
1- Should the course be intensive or extensive? (time during which the learning
is delivered: short or long)
2- Should the learner’s performance be assessed or non-assessed? (in EAP context,
a test upon completion of the course is usually compulsory, since this test is
adminitered along with other the subject tests, in EOP context, it may depend
on the duration of the course; short intensive courses don’t usually end with
tests;
3- Should the course deal with immediate needs or with delayed needs?
4- Should the role of the teacher be that of the provider of knowledge and
activities, or of a facilitator of activities arising from learners’ expressed wants?
5- Should the course have a broad or narrow focus?
6- Should the course be pre-study or pre-experience or non-parallel with that
study or experience?
7- Should the material be common-core or specific to learners’ study or work?
8- Should the group taking the course homogenous or heterogenous
9- Should the course design be worked out by the language teacher after
consultation with the learners and the institution, or should it be subject to a process
of negotiation with the learners?
 Chambers, F. (1980). A re-evaluation of needs
analysis in ESP. ESP Journal, 1 (1), 25-33.
 Dudley-Evans, T., St. John, M. (1998).
Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A
Multi-Disciplinary Approach. UK: Cambridge
University Press,
 Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English
for Specific Purposes: A learner-centered Approach.
UK: Cambridge University Press
 Mickan P. (2013). Language Curriculum Design
and Socialisation. UK: Multilingual Matters
OMAR LAABED - English for Specific Purposes P age |1

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Part II

NEEDS ANAYSIS

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of part II, students will be able to:

- Define the concepts of “need” and “needs analysis” in education;

- Know the types of needs as depicted by researchers;
- Know some models of needs analysis offered by scholars;
- Know the methods allowing for the identification of learners’ needs;
- Understand the main components/stages of the needs analysis process.

Contents

Needs analysis in English for Specific Purposes

1. Definition of “need” and “needs analysis”
2. Types of needs
3. Methods for identifying learners’ needs
4. Models of needs analyses

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Introduction

One of the key concepts in English for Specific Purposes is needs analysis; this
is considered as a corner-stone stage in the process of designing ESP courses, since
this latter is intended for learners with "specific" purposes. To understand what
needs analysis is all about, this handout is divided into four sections. On the one
hand, the first and second sections discuss basic knowledge on needs analysis; this
throws light on the definition of the concepts of need and needs analysis, and
explores the types of needs in education. On the other hand, having paved the way
for further knowledge on this particular subject of needs analysis, the third and
fourth sections tackle the methods allowing for the identification of learners’ needs
with special interest in questionnaires, and the models of needs analysis organizing
those methods.

I. Definition of Needs Analysis

According to Brindley (1989, p. 65), the term “need” refers to “the gap between
what is and what should be”. This implies that learners should already have
developed certain skills (what is) – let us remember that, as mentioned in part one,
one of the requirements to take an ESP course is that learners’ language proficiency
level must be intermediate or advanced. On the other hand, those learners have
specific goals that they have already set; this falls under the phrase: “what should
be.” Now, the “needs”, according to Brindley, are the gap between the already
developed skills and those to be developed. Thus, the only way to properly identify
this gap would be carrying out a “needs analysis” (also called needs assessment).
Brown (1995, p. 36) views needs analysis as: “the systemic collection and
analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to define and validate
defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the language learning requirements of
students within the context of particular institutions that influence the learning and
teaching situations.” Brown’s definition seems to go beyond the scope of merely
defining needs analysis in that it denotes, on the one hand, the centrality of the

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process of needs analysis, and, on the other hand, the strong relationship between
three main factors that influence ESP course designs; these are as follows:
1- The collected learners’ subjective and objective information, and, by extension,
the learner;
2- A valid curriculum defined based on the collection and analysis of the learners’
needs; and
3- The institution(s) influencing the learning and teaching situations.

In fact, Brown’s idea on the centrality of needs analysis to curriculum design is

echoed in Johns’ (1991); who notes that the validity and relevancy of all subsequent
course design activities are the result of needs analysis. Applying this to the
teaching of ESP, needs analysis provides course designers with a clear vision on the
right approach to follow.

Building on the above mentioned elements, the learner is viewed as the main
actor in the whole teaching system; thus, the collection and analysis of information
on and about the learner constitute a key to an effective course design that would
help both learners and teachers meet their needs. To do so, needs analysts must
know the type of information they should get collected and analysed; this particular
point is addressed in the next section.

II. Types of Needs

From a historical perspective, a review of literature related to needs analysis

reveals that it was in the 1980s that classifications of needs started to emerge. In this
regard, two frequently cited classifications are: Hutchinson & Waters’ classification
(1987), and Brindley’s classification (1989).

From Hutchinson and Waters’ perspective, needs are divided into two main
types: target needs and learning needs. On the one hand, Target needs denotes what
learners need to do in the target situation (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p. 54); in
other terms, these refer to the purpose of using the language in the target situation.
In the same context, Hutchinson and Waters use target needs as an umbrella term
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encompassing three other terms; these are: necessities, lacks and wants. While
necessities refer to “the type of need determined by the demands of the target
situation,” lacks refer to what the learners do not know; in other words, lacks are the
gap that the learners seek to fill. By wants, Hutchinson and Waters refer to the
learners’ motivation and attitudes to the course. An attempt of making a connection
between the definitions of the three terms (necessities, lacks and wants) may, thus,
reveal that target needs are the learners’ reasons for taking an ESP course; these are
determined through the identification of: 1) the requirements of the target situation
(i.e. the situation in which the learners want to function properly upon completion
of their ESP course); in other words, the skills that the learners should have
developed before being in that specific situation; an example of these skills would
be negotiating (contract terms for instance) in business settings, 2) the skills that the
learners should develop to meet their goals; referring back to the example of
negotiating business contract terms, learners would want to know the typical
sentences and phrases that could be used for this purpose (negotiation), 3) the
learners’ psychological readiness to take that particular course.

On the other hand, Hutchinson and Waters note that learning needs are what the
learners need to do in order to learn (Ibid, p. 55). Hence, if the identification of
target needs aims to reveal “what” the learners’ needs are, the aim of identifying
learning needs is to unveil “how” learners will meet those needs.

At a practical level, Hutchinson and Waters (as cited in Songhori, 2008, 13-14)
suggested the following list of questions to analyse learners’ needs:

1. Why are the learners taking the course?

• compulsory or optional;
• apparent need or not;
• Are status, money, promotion involved?
• What do learners think they will achieve?
• What is their attitude towards the ESP course? Do they want to improve their
English or do they resent the time they have to spend on it?
2. How do the learners learn?
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• What is their learning background?

• What is their concept of teaching and learning?
• What methodology will appeal to them?
• What sort of techniques bore/alienate them?
3. What sources are available?
• number and professional competence of teachers;
• attitude of teachers to ESP;
• teachers' knowledge of and attitude to subject content;
• Materials;
• Aids;
• Opportunities for out-of-class activities.
4. Who are the learners?
• Age/sex/nationality;
• What do they know already about English?
• What subject knowledge do they have?
• What are their interests?
• What is their socio-cultural background?
• What teaching styles are they used to?
• What is their attitude to English or to the cultures of the English speaking world?

Another classification of needs is offered by Brindley (1989), who divides

needs into two types; objective needs and subjective needs; this division is also
echoed in Brown’s definition quoted above (see section I: definition of needs
analysis). Needs assessors can identify objective needs through the collection and
analysis of learners’ biographical data, such as age, nationality, gender, marital
status, educational background, current language proficiency level, difficulties in
foreign language learning, current or future profession. This information should be
embedded into the process of assessing objective needs. Likewise, subjective needs
can be identified through the collection and analysis of the learners’ affective and

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cognitive factors. These factors include the learners’ personality, self-confidence,

personal cognitive styles1, expectations and self-esteem during the learning process.

Building on the above, some commonality between the meanings of certain

terms may be noticed; for instance, Hutchinson and Waters’ necessities may be used
interchangeably with Brindley’s Objective needs in that both terms refer to the type
of needs that should be identified; the identification of the learners’ biographical
data (Brindley) may lead to the identification of those needs.

III. Methods for identifying learners’ needs

There are various methods that needs analysts can follow to identify the
learners’ needs. In this vein, Brown (1995, p. 45) suggests six types of instruments
that can be used to carry out a needs analysis; these are: existing information, tests,
observations, interviews, meetings, and questionnaires. In the following section, we
will focus on questionnaires.

Questionnaires can be structured (see index 1), i.e. having several sections
following a particular sequencing and order, or unstructured (see index 2), i.e.
questions asked within no specific sequencing or order.

IV. Models of needs analysis

Historically speaking, needs analysis, as a functional approach, was practically

established in the mid-70s (West, 1998). This is when researchers’ contributions on
finding models for analyzing needs started to emerge. In this context, Munby’s
1978 model was probably the major researcher contribution to teaching ESP. An
overview of Munby’s model is

In 1978, Munby wrote his book “Communicative Syllabus Design”. In his book,
Munby introduced his model consisting of seven elements, among which the most

1
Field-dependent and field-independent are probably the most well know cognitive learning styles; field-
independent learners are likely to learn more effectively so long as they are motivated (self study).
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significant is the Communication Needs Processor (CNP). Aiming to use the CNP
in order to provide a detailed description of particular communication needs,
Munby (1978, p. 32) considers “the variables that affect communication needs by
organizing them as parameters in a dynamic relationship to each other.” CNP eight
parameters are shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Munby’s eight parameters of the CNP

Songhori (2008, p p. 6-7) summarizes Munby’s CNP parameters as follows:

• Purposive domain: this category establishes the type (i.e. the branch, such as
Academic or Occupational) of ESP, and then the purpose which the target language
will be used for at the end of the course;
• Setting: the physical setting specifying the spatial and temporal aspects of the
situation where English will be used, and the psychological setting specifying the
different environment in which English will be used;
• Interaction: identifies the learner’s interlocutors and predicts relationship
between them.
• Instrumentality: specifies the medium, i.e., whether the language to be used is
written, spoken, or both; mode, i.e., whether the language to be used is in the form
of monologue, dialogue or any other; and channel of communication, i.e., whether it
is face to face, radio, or any other.

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• Dialect: dialects learners will have to understand or produce in terms of their

spatial, temporal, or social aspect.
• Communicative event: states what the participants will have to do productively
or receptively.
• Communicative key: the manner in which the participants will have to do the
activities comprising an event, e.g. politely or impolitely.
• Target level: level of linguistic proficiency at the end of the ESP course which
might be different for different skills.

As stated above, Munby’s CNP has brought about a shift towards considering
the learner as central to ESP teaching, in that it emphasized the importance of
investigating the target situation needs.

In fact, the importance of Munby’s approach to needs analysis seems

unquestionable; in this context, Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 54) noted that:
“With the development of the CNP it seemed as if ESP had come of age. The
machinery for identifying the needs of any group of learners had been provided: all
the course designers had to do was to operate it. By introducing his model, the main
contribution Munby made was turning the focus to the learner’s communication
purposes.

In 1998, Dudley-Evans and St. Johns offered their own needs analysis model;
this comprises three levels: the first level is named Target Situation Analysis (TSA);
the second level is termed Present Situation Analysis (PSA); and the third level is
named Learning Situation Analysis (LSA).

The concept of Target Situation Analysis was first introduced by Chambers

(1980) to refer to “the communication in the target situation.” Based on this,
analyzing the target situation implies investigating the learners’ target proficiency
level. In other words, target situation analysts look at what skills the learners look
forwarding to developing in order to function properly in the target situation. On the
other hand, the Present Situation Analysis (PSA), to Dudley-Evans and St. John

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(1998, p.125), estimates the strengths and weaknesses in language skills and
learning experience.

All in a nutshell, unlike target situation analysis, present situation analysis looks
at the current learners’ language-proficiency level.

Conclusion

In this handout, we have looked at the definition of the concepts of need and
needs analysis in the context of education. Furthermore, we have shed some light on
the classifications of needs. Also, we have explored the methods allowing for the
identification of ESP learners’ needs, and some models suggested by scholars for
carrying out the processes of needs analysis.

In this part, the following has been shown. First, the concept of need in the
educational context (and more specifically in ESP teaching) refers to the gap
between what the learners’ already has as knowledge and what s/he would like to
have in order to be able to function properly in the target situation of
communication. Second, the concept of needs analysis, in ESP, refers to the process
of identifying learners’ needs in order to design a course. Also, needs are identified
through knowledge of specific information on and about the learner; this is
objective information (e.g. the learners’ biographical data), and subjective
information (i.e. this has rather to do with the psychological aspect: e.g. learners’
motivation to learn). Third, in order for needs assessors to identify the above
mentioned needs, various methods (tools) can be applied; a questionnaire is one of
these. Fourth, the organisation of the information gathering and analysis process has
been an interest area for many researchers, who offered models (frameworks). This
part focused on Munby’s Communication Needs Processor.

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Indexes

Index 1: Sample of a structured questionnaire

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Index 2: Sample of an unstructured questionnaire

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References

Brindley, G. (1989). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL program design. In
R. K. Johnson (Ed.), the second language curriculum (pp. 63-78).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brown, J.D. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic

approach to program development. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle
Publishers.

Chambers, F. (1980). A re-evaluation of needs analysis in ESP. ESP Journal, 1

(1), 25-33.

Dudley-Evans, T., St. John, M. (1998). Developments in English for Specific

Purposes: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. UK: Cambridge University Press,

Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A

learner-centered Approach. UK: Cambridge University Press

Johns, A. M. (1991). English for Specific Purposes: its history and

contributions. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.) Teaching English as a second or
foreign language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-Centred Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Songhori, M. H. (2008). Introduction to Needs Analysis. In English for Specific

Purposes World. Issue 4 (pp. 1 - 25)

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ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Part I

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of handout I, students will be able to:

- Define English for Specific Purposes (ESP);

- Know the reasons behind the emergence of ESP;
- Know the different stages of the ESP development;
- Understand the core differences between ESP and general English;

Contents

Origins and development of ESP

1. Definition of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
2. Emergence of ESP
3. Developments in ESP
4. Classification of ESP

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Introduction

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been around since mid 1960s as a
branch of English Language Teaching (ELT) within the broader field of applied
linguistics. It has been developing ever since its emergence, and has been gradually
gaining researchers’ interest. From this standpoint, this handout aims to introduce
tertiary-level students to this new area of research; by equipping them with the basic
theoretical knowledge, which would allow them to take further steps in the future
(e.g. teach ESP courses).
This handout presents part I of the ESP course corresponding to the master’s
level; it summarizes part of our class discussions. It bears the title: emergence and
development of English for Specific Purposes. It is, as mentioned above, a
combination of early and more recent research work; hence, it is mainly based on
three key readings; Hutchison & Waters’ 1987 English for Specific Purposes: a
learning-centred-approach, Alousque’s 2016 article Developments in ESP: from
register analysis to genre-based and CLIL-based approach, and Liu & Hu’s 2020
article Mapping the field of English for specific purposes (1980 – 2018): A co-
citation analysis. Another part (part II), shall be soon prepared and made available.
This part is only one click away; it is accessible through the University e-
learning platform, by clicking on the link below:

http://elearning.univ-djelfa.dz/course/index.php?categoryid=235

It is also available on the official Facebook page of the department of foreign

languages.

I. Emergence and development of ESP

In this section, I will try to define English for Specific Purposes based on the
various definitions put forward by scholars and researchers. Also, I will try to shed
light on the reasons leading to the emergence of ESP, and on how it has evolved
through time, and on the scholars’ classifications of ESP. Another aspect that will
be discussed in this section is the differences between ESP and General English.

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i. Definition of English for Specific Purposes

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is ―generally used to refer to the teaching
of English for a clearly utilitarian purpose‖ (Mackay and Mountford, 1978, p. 2). In
other words, ESP learners are learners who have specific reasons to take an ESP
course. This is a general view of what ESP is. In fact, since the emergence of ESP
in the 1960s (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p. 7), researchers’ views of what
English for Specific Purposes exactly is seem to have been marked by much
divergence. In this vein, Anthony (1997, pp. 9-10) noted that ―some people
described ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be
specified. Others, however, were more precise, describing it as the teaching of
English for vocational or professional purposes.‖ However, this dichotomy of views
seem to exclude a third view that ESP was also regarded as an ―approach to
teaching English according to the needs of the learners‖, as stated by Hutchinson
and Waters (1987): ―ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions
as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning‖ (19). This
emphasizes the learner and the learning process, and by extension, ESP is regarded
as the learning of English for specified needs. Later, more views of what ESP is
started to emerge; Johns and Price-Machado (2001, p. 43), for instance, consider it
―a movement based on the proposition that all language teaching should be tailored
to the specific learning and language use needs of identified groups of students—
and also sensitive to the socio-cultural contexts in which these students will be
using English.‖ In fact, the idea that the socio-cultural context is important has
much to do with the developments in ESP through time and the socio-cultural
context emerged as a new important variable in ESP teaching; this particular point
will be further explained later in a dedicated section.

Another recent definition that is widely cited is that of Paltridge and Starfield (2013,
p. 2), who see ESP as: ―the teaching and learning of English as a second or foreign
language where the goal of the learners is to use English in a particular domain.‖
This definition brings forward the idea that ESP courses can be taken both in
English-speaking countries (where non speakers of English learn English as a

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second language), and in non-English speaking countries (where non speakers of

English learn English as a foreign language).

At this point, based on the mentioned definitions, it could be argued that

English for Specific Purposes is the teaching and learning of English as a foreign or
second language that aims to achieve specific language needs, in a manner that
allows the learners to use English in a particular domain (e.g. medical sciences,
scientific studies, business, management, politics, social sciences, etc.)

Dudley-Evans (2001) defines ESP by offering a characterisation of ESP

courses. According to him, an ESP course has absolute characteristics and variable
ones; these are summarized as follows:

a) Absolute characteristics:
 ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners;
 ESP makes use of the methodology and activities of the specialism it serves ;
 ESP is centred not only on the language (grammar, lexis, register), but also
on the skills, discourses and genres appropriate to those activities.

b) Variable characteristics:
 ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from
that of General English;
 ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level
institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for
learners at secondary school level;
 ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;
 Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems.

Robinson (1991 as cited in Alousque, 2016, p. 192) defines ESP based on two
criteria: - ESP is goal-directed and develops from needs analysis, and two
characteristics: - ESP courses are taught to adults and are generally short.

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Through Dudley-Evans ESP characterisation, and Robison’s criteria and

characteristics mentioned above, it can be argued that ESP is different from general
English; the following are probably the main differences:

1. ESP is based on needs analysis, (No needs analysis is required to design a

general English course);
2. ESP is adults-centred (Secondary and/or university students), (general
English courses can start from primary school);
3. ESP involves homogenous learners (based on level requirements), (General
English students are heterogeneous learners).

ii. Emergence of ESP

On the emergence of ESP, Swales (1985, p. x) argues that ESP ―has no clear
and indisputable beginning.‖ For him, the emergence of modern research in ESP
could be traced back in time to 1962, the year when Barbers (1962) published his
pioneering work on ―Measurable characteristics of modern prose‖ (Barbers in Liu &
Hu, 2020, p. 98). Hutchinson and waters (1987, pp. 5-6) argue that its emergence
was due to three reasons: the demands of a brave new world, a revolution in
linguistics and a new focus on the learner.

 The demands of a brave new world

Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 6) mentioned that the end of the Second
World War (SWW) initiated an ―age of enormous and unprecedented expansion in
scientific, technical and economic activity on an international scale for various
reasons, most notably the economic power of the United States in the post-war
world, the role fell to English.‖ In other words, the economic developments in the
English speaking countries in the late 1950s and early1960s and the growth of
science and technology in those countries contributed to increase the demand for
ESP courses. This increase in demand was the result of massive applications for
ESP courses in the English-speaking countries, which were made by students from
all around the world. In this regard, for instance, Bob Jordan and Alan Matthews
(1978) wrote a research paper named ―Practice Materials for Listening
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Comprehension and Writing Needs for Overseas Students‖, where they mentioned
that 49 students from several countries attended an ESP course at the department of
Education (University of Manchester, UK).

 A revolution in linguistics
By revolution, one can understand the shift from traditional linguistics, where the
attention was centred on merely describing the features of the language toward the
study of Register1 Analysis (RA) where the ways the language is used in real
communication are rather focussed; this is how the new idea of tailoring
instructions to fit various real communication situations started to take shape. As we
will see in later sections of this handout, developments in ESP went in line with the
developments in linguistics.

 A new focus on the learner

In fact, the sixties witnessed an unprecedented change in linguistics, but it also
witnessed new developments in educational psychology. As a result, the learners
and their attitudes to learning were emphasized (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p. 8).
Scholars welcomed this move. Rodgers (1969) noted that the learner’s attitude to
learning should be emphasized. Hence, this particular point has much to do with
Psychology so long that it puts forward the importance of learners’ attitudes to
learning; an indispensable factor of students’ motivation and, by extension, learning
effectiveness. This is Hutchinson and Waters’ view, but it is also that of many
scholars, such as

iii. Developments in ESP

In this section, I will try to shed light on how ESP evolved through time from
mid 1960s until present, based on both early contributions on this particular point;
mainly Hutchinson and Waters’ 1987 views, and more recent contributions; mainly

1
Halliday et al. Introduced this term in 1964. It stands for the variety of English distinguished according to
use.
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the two contributions of Alousque (2016) and that of Liu and Hu (2020). Table 1
summarizes the three divisions

Hutchison & Waters (1987)

The concept of Beyond the Target Skills and A
special language: sentence: situation strategies learning-
Stages

register analysis Rhetorical or analysis centred

(In 1960s and discourse approach
early 1070s) analysis
Alousque (2016)
Mid-1960s - early Mid-1970s – mid- Mid-1980s – 2000s-present:
Stages

1970s: Register- 1980s: Rhetorical 1990s: Skills and

analysis analysis Target situation strategies, CLIL
analysis approach to
language
teaching
Liu & Hu (2020)
The conceptualizing The maturing stage The flourishing stage
Stages

stage (1970s–1990s) (1990s–2000s) (2000s-)

- Genre-based approaches
- Corpus-based
approaches,
- Contextual and critical
approaches,
Table 1: Divisions of developments of ESP

Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 9) suggested that ESP developed through five
different stages, with four phases from the 1960s to 1987 (the year of the outing of
their book English for Specific Purposes: a learning-centred approach), while the
fifth stage was starting to emerge. In turn, Alousque (2016) seems to base her
division of ESP developments on Hutchinson & Waters’ views, with more up to
date input and somewhat different approaches in that she suggested a four-stage
division. Liu & Hu (2020) provided a three-stage division, with focus on the
research done on ESP. Comparing the two latter divisions, though they followed
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different approaches, both Alousque (2016) and Liu & Hu (2020) suggested a time
frame for each stage of ESP developments. In this regard, Alousque (2016, p. 195)
argues that the developments in ESP can be traced back in time to mid 1960s, and
that, based on the changes that occurred in linguistics, four different stages of
developments can be determined as follows: 1) from 1960s to mid 1970s; 2) from
mid 1970 to mid 1980s; 3) from mid 1980s to 1990s; 4) from the 1990s to 2000.
Each one of these stages is marked by specific features. On the other hand, Liu &
Hu (2020, p. 97) divided the developments in ESP into three stages, namely the
initial conceptualizing stage (1970s–1990s) centring on needs analysis, the maturing
stage (1990s–2000s) characterized by the development of major methodological
approaches (e.g., genre-based, corpus-based, contextual, and critical approaches),
and the flourishing stage (2000s-) ushering in a diversity of research interests (e.g.,
move analysis, cross-disciplinary and cross-linguistic variation, lexical bundles,
vocabulary lists, meta-discourse, and academic writing in a global context) (Ibid)

Another point of divergence lays in the research aim of each of the mentioned
authors; whereas Hutchinson & Waters’ contribution is part of a book that aims to
explore many other aspects of ESP, that seem necessary to introduce (in the same
book) his learning-centred approach to teaching ESP, Alousque’s and Liu and Hu’s
contributions are academic articles with different aims in that Alousque’s article is
dedicated to trace the ESP movement in time from its beginning to present (i.e.
2016, the year of the outing of her research paper); on the other hand, Liu and Hu
(2020, p. 97) offered a diachronic, quantitative, systematic overview of English-for-
specific-purposes research from 1970 to 2018 (i.e. focus is on academic research).

In fact, although the aforementioned division approaches are different, the

knowledge (literature and views) offered in the Hutchison & Waters’ book and
Alousque’s article seem to share quite common grounds; they both suggest that
developments in ESP occurred in line with developments in linguistics, that ESP
started from the 1964 notion of register analysis, that English for Science and
Technology registers were focussed on, and by extension, many related syllabi were
suggested.

This paper follows Alousque’s (2016) division approach, with notes from
Hutchison & Waters’ and Liu & Hu’s contributions. Accordingly, the following is a
summary of the main milestones in the history of ESP.

Stage 1: Register Analysis

A defining feature of this stage is the emergence of Register Analysis coined by

Haliday et al. in 1964 (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Alousque, 2016; Liu & Hu,
2020). By definition, register refers to the variety of language that is used by users

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(Haliday, 1964). In other words, teaching the language in this stage was heavily
dependent on what situation(s) the user wants to use the language in. In this vein,
Alousque (2016, p. 196) notes that: ―Operating on the principle that language varies
according to the user (registers), analysts identified the grammatical and lexical
features of these registers, which ESP courses adopted as their syllabus.‖ This
seems to be in perfect consonance with Hutchinson & Waters (1987) words:

―Operating on the basic principle that the English of, say,

Electrical Engineering constituted a specific register different
from that of, say, Biology or of General English, the aim of
the ]register[ analysis was to identify the grammatical and
lexical features of these registers. Teaching materials then
took these linguistic features as their syllabus.‖ (pp. 9 - 10)

However, this approach was limited in that it was ―sentence-based and form-
focused,‖ (Alousque, 2016, p. 196), and also in that it was mostly centred on EST
registers. In this regard, Hutchinson & Waters (1987, p. 9) noted that: ―one area of
activity has been particularly important in the development of ESP. This is the area
usually known as EST (English for Science and Technology).‖

Thus, the aim of register analysis was to create syllabus that would help teachers
meet their learners’ needs, but it did not take into account the importance of
meaning in discourse; rather, it was limited to the sentence level. This idea was
translated in the advent of inventories of EST registers sentences; Alousque (2016,
196) mentioned a good example of this is Ewer and Latorre’s 1967 work, when they
established the relative frequency and range of items under three headings (sentence
patterns, non-structural lexis and function words and phrases) on the basis of a large
corpus of texts from ten areas of science.
Hutchinson & Waters (1987, 10) also mentioned the example of Ewer &
Latorre’s ―A Course in Basic Scientific English” published in 1969. Ewer and
Latorre (1969, p.122), themselves, noted that: ―There is a basic language of
scientific English, made up of sentence patterns, structural words and non-structural
words common to all the sciences. It is to this essential framework that the large
specialized vocabularies of each discipline are added.‖ Ewer & Latorre’s statement
seems to perfectly match with another example of those early EST courses;
Beginning Scientific English by D.E. Royds-Irmak’s, first published in 1975. The
book was divided into a number of units, and the layout of each unit was explained
by the author as follows:
―- At the head of each unit, vocabulary which can most efficiently be taught through
mother-tongue equivalents,

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- Text A, which presents the subject matter in simple everyday language and
structure,
- Text B, which contains exactly the same subject matter, but is reworded in more
scientific terms and structures. Each numbered word or phrase corresponds with
a word or phrase italicized in text A, and these are set out for easy reference in
exercise 1 of each unit.‖ (D.E. Royds-Irmak, 1975, p. 1)

The above literature suggests that the first stage of ESP development was
marked by a major contribution to ESP in that, for the first time, ESP learners’
needs (i.e. the language user’s needs in real communication situations) were taken
into consideration in the syllabus design. On the other hand, it suggests that
scholars’ efforts during this stage were insufficient in that they limited ESP to EST
registers, and that the focus was only on the sentences and structures (grammar and
vocabulary); rhetoric was least important.

Stage 2: Rhetorical/Discourse analysis

From Alousque’s perspective (2016), the time frame of this second stage is
between mid 1970s and mid 1980s. This stage was primarily marked by the shift
from the sentence level to the level above the sentence (Hutchinson & Waters,
1987; Alousque, 2016); whereas in the first stage the focus was on the sentences
(structures), attention in the second stage was shifted to how the sentences were
combined in discourse to produce meaning (Hutchison & Waters, 1987, p. 11), and,
accordingly, ESP courses followed a new approach to teaching; Both Hutchinson &
Waters (1987, p. 12) and Alousque (2016, p. 197) named one example of the
resulted courses: the English in Focus series (OUP) with nine volumes from 1977
to 1983, the syllabus that was built on the rhetorical functions.

From academic research perspective, Liu & Hu (2020, p. 97) mentioned another
interesting feature of this stage: the emergence of English for Specific Purposes
Journal (ESPJ) in 1980; this was a major change in that researchers interested in the
field of ESP had, for the first time, a common address to send their academic
research to.

However, although the functional approach was a significant step forward in the
development of ESP, it received criticism. In this regard, Alousque noted that it
―came to replace a grammatical lexical inventory by an inventory of functions‖
(Alousque, 2016).

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Stage 3: Target situation analysis

Alousque’s (2016, p. 199) time frame for this stage starts from late 1980s
through the 1990s. To have a clear idea about the aim of this stage, Hutchison and
Waters (1987) explain that:

―Given that the purpose of an ESP course is to enable learners

to function adequately in a target situation, that is, the situation
in which the learners will use the language they are learning,
then the ESP course design process should proceed by first
identifying the target situation and then carrying out a rigorous
analysis of the linguistic features of that situation. The
identified features will form the syllabus of the ESP course.‖
(p. 12)

Thus, for Hutchinson & Waters, the aim of this stage was ―to take the existing
knowledge and set it on a more scientific basis, by establishing procedures for
relating language analysis more closely to learners' reasons for learning.‖
Alousque’s later view of the changes that occurred in this stage seem to go in
consonance with Hutchinson & Waters views in that both linguistic and
pedagogical features should be taken into consideration prior to the process of
course design. Hence, Alousque (2016, p. 199) noted that ―this stage was
characterized by two new directions: (i) a linguistic direction, namely discourse and
genre analysis, and (ii) a pedagogical direction based on the learning-centred
approach put forward by Hutchinson and Waters (1987).‖ In terms of the changes
that occurred at the linguistic level, new concepts, such as discourse analysis and
genre analysis, were introduced. Discourse analysis has significantly enriched
research in all areas of ESP by revealing the distinguishing features of specific texts
across disciplines (e.g. academic articles, sales promotion letters, sales negotiations,
laboratory demonstrations) (Alousque, 2016, p. 200). On the other hand, genre
analysis, which is an area of discourse analysis, is defined as:

―The study of how language is used within a particular context.

Genres differ in that each has a different goal and they are
structured differently to achieve these goals.‖ (Hyland, 1992, p.
15)

This means that a genre is a type of discourse, and genre analysis studies that
type of discourse in specific domains; these could be academic or professional. In
the same vein, from academic research perspective, two key publications falling
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into this particular area of genre analysis are Swale’s 1990 Genre Analysis, and
Bhatia’s 1993 Analysing Genre. In the latter, Bhatia (cited in Liu & Hu, 2020, 104)
developed genre analysis by outlining its theoretical basis, introducing different
approaches, and expanding target ESP genres from academic texts to professional
texts.

Stage 4: developments in genre studies; sociological and cultural

considerations, and the advent of new technologies

Alousque’s time frame for this stage is from 2000 to 2016 (the year of the
outing of her article). This stage has many new features comparing to the previous
stages.
Alousque (2016, p. 201) mentioned the development in genre studies;
sociological considerations of the context in which texts are written, and the
influence of culture on the structure of genres.
Another defining characteristic of this stage is the introduction of ICTs in the
teaching process; ESP courses were not an exception. Thus, ESP learners had
between their hands materials that varied in nature; for instance, online written and
audio-visual materials became available for both learners and teacher alongside the
student’s book and the teacher’s book.
Another characteristic of this stage is the shift from exclusive focus on EST
registers to openness to other registers, mainly business English register. This
resulted in the emergence of Business English courses; Market Leader, first
published in 2002, is a good example of those courses. In its three-page-length
introduction, Market Leader’s author emphasizes that the course is aimed at
bringing the real world of International Business into the language teaching
classroom, that the course is intended for use either by students preparing for a
career in business or for professionals seeking to better their communication skills,
and that the course combines some of the most stimulating recent ideas from the
world of business and a strongly task-based approach (Muskull, 2002, p. 5); these
seem to correspond with Robinsons’ (1991) criteria and characteristics of ESP
mentioned in section one (definition of ESP).
Also, from academic research perspective, an interesting feature of this stage is
the emergence of the Journal of English for Academic Purposes (JEAP) established
in 2002. Thus, alongside with the already mentioned ESPJ, the new journal made a
new asset for the researchers specializing in ESP.
Two further characteristics of the fourth stage in ESP development are
globalization and the status of English as the lingua franca of academic and business
communication (Aousque, 2016; Liu & Hu, 2020).

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iv. Classifications of ESP

In fact, various classifications of ESP have been offered by scholars (Strevens,

1977; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Robinson, 1991; Dudley-Evans & St. John,
1998). I will focus on Hutchinson and Waters’ classification; figure 1 below
summarizes their view on this particular point.

Figure 1 Hutchinson & Waters’ tree (1987, p. 17).

Figure 3 shows that ESP is a branch of bother EFL and ESL. It also suggests
that ESP can be divided into three branches: EST (English for Science and
Technology), EBE (English for Business and Economy), and ESS (English for
Social Sciences); each of these branches represents a group of registers that can be
aimed for academic purposes, and called EAP (English for Academic Purposes), or
for professional purposes and called EOP (English for Occupational Purposes). For
example, in the EBE branch, secretaries seeking to learn English in order to use it at
work are considered EOP learners, while students of economics learning English
are considered EAP learners.
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It is worth mentioning that ESP was, in the earlier stages, regarded as the
teaching of English to professionals; that is to say it was limited to people using
English at work. Later, in 1970s, EAP emerged as a branch of ESP with a focus ―on
the communicative needs and practices of individuals working in academic
contexts‖ (Hyland & Shaw, 2016, p. 1).

Conclusion
In this part, basic knowledge has been explored. It has been shown that ESP can
be defined as the teaching and learning of English for specific reasons, that ESP
courses differ from general English courses in that they tend to be adult-centred,
designed to be used by homogenous classes, where the English-language
proficiency level is at least intermediate. It has also been shown that ESP emerged
in the 1960s, mainly as a result of three factors: 1) the end of WWII that paved the
way to another type of war; that of science and technology; 2) a revolution in
linguistics leading to the emergence of register analysis, and the shift to the teaching
of the language based on communicative situations; 3) the developments in
educational psychology that shifted the focus to the learner’s attitudes, and by
extension, their motivation. Furthermore, it has been revealed that, thanks to the
efforts of ESP researchers and practitioners, ESP has developed through time, and
that, accordingly, four historical stages could be determined: 1) the register analysis
stage (i.e. sentence-level stage); 2) the rhetorical analysis stage (i.e. the level
beyond the sentence); the target-situation-analysis stage; and 4) the stage matked by
the advent of Genre studies; sociological and cultural considerations, and new
technologies.
References

Alousque, I. N. (2016). Developments in ESP: from register analysis to genre-

based and CLIL-based approach. Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos
22 (1), 190-212

Anthony, L. (19971). ESP: What does it mean? Why is it different? ONCUE, 4

(3), 9-10.

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Dudley-Evans T. (2001). Team-teaching in EAP: Changes and adaptations in

the Birmingham approach. UK: Cambridge University Press,

Dudley-Evans, T., St. John, M. (1998). Developments in English for Specific

Purposes: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. UK: Cambridge University Press,

Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes : A

learner-centered Approach, Cambridge University Press, UK,

Hyland, K. (1992). Genre Analysis: Just another fad? Forum. 30 (2), 14-17

Hyland, K., & Shaw, P. (2016). The Routledge handbook of English for
academic purposes. London: Routledge.

Johns, A. M. & Price-Machado D. (2001). English for Specific Purposes (ESP):

Tailoring Courses to Students Needs and to the Outside World. In M. Celca-
Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. UK:
Heinle & Heinle

Liu, Y. & Hu G. (2020). Mapping the field of English for specific purposes
(1980 – 2018): A co-citation analysis. English for Specific Purposes. 61
(2021). 97-116

Mackay, R. & Mountford, A. (1978). English for Specific Purposes. UK:

Longman.

McDonough, J. (1998). Recent Materials for the Teaching of ESP, ELT

Journal, 52 (2), 156-165

Paltridge, B. and Starfield, S. (2013). The Handbook of English for Specific

Purposes. USA: Wiley Blackwell.

Robinson, P. (1991). ESP today.UK: Prentice Hall International ltd.

Strevens, P. (1977). New Orientations in the Teaching of English. UK: Oxford

University Press.

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Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

PART I- EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENTS OF ESP

2020 – 2021